


Simmering

by dip_the_pip



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Established Relationship, Healthy Communication, Quarantine, Slice of Life, some domestic bs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23597263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dip_the_pip/pseuds/dip_the_pip
Summary: Lockdown's got Dan getting snappy over little things and he feels like he can't breathe. (not as angsty as it sounds)
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 5
Kudos: 75





	Simmering

The air tastes stale. The blankets feel just a bit too warm. The sounds of a video game being played down the hall is irritating, until it is inevitably changed to the soothing sounds of animal crossing and the soft chatter of the villagers.

Dan rubs his hands over his face, letting out a soft sigh when he lets his hands fall back to his sides. He’s laying in the middle of the bed, and a little bit of him misses having the freedom of his own bed at night. He doesn’t miss it enough to go sleep in the guest bedroom, but he’d love a night of sprawling out with four pillows all to himself and no cold toes pressing against his legs.

Maybe they should try it, just for a night? They’ve been locked up for weeks in lockdown, what’s one night apart in different beds?

Dan scratches at his belly, letting out a long yawn before stretching out his legs and pointing his toes, curling them and cracking them a few times. He sits up and turns to climb out of Phil’s side of the bed. He sits on the edge, taking an overdramatic deep breath before pushing himself off the bed.

He strides across the sun-lit bedroom to the ensuite bathroom, closing the door behind him. He does his business, washes his hands, brushes his teeth, goes through very basic morning skin care routine even though its nearing noon, and then leans over the counter to fluff and puff up his hair to seem somewhat presentable, even though Phil’s the only one that’ll see him today. And tomorrow. And most days in the future unless a friend or family member he’s been ignoring messages from for too long finally FaceTime’s him.

He flicks the light off before leaving the bathroom and grabs a discarded hoodie from the floor. He holds it up, not too sure whose it is, and gives it a whiff. Deciding it doesn’t smell too horrendous, just a touch on the side of stanky, Dan pulls it over his head and heads out to the lounge. Phil’s sitting cross-legged on the couch, a plate with a sandwich and some crisps balanced on his knee while he makes an exchange of some furniture for some clothes with a villager on his Island.

Dan takes the plate carefully and sets it on the coffee table before sitting on the couch next to him, bringing his knees to his chest and leaning into his side, “Mornin’,”

Phil snorts beside him, and it jostles Dan’s head a bit from where it’s resting on his shoulder, “It’s midday,”

“Who knew that I’d spend ten years choosing to spend as much time as possible with you, but now the governments forcing us to be together all the time and I hate you,”

Phil shrugs the shoulder Dan’s resting on to disturb him again, a grin playing at his lips, “Shut up,”

Dan lets one of his hands fall to Phil’s bare knee, tracing gently up his thigh before sliding back down past the knee, fiddling with the hairs along his shin and scratching softly, “When was the last time you changed your pants?” He asks.

Phil shrugs a bit, trying not to giggle and squirm at Dan unintentionally tickling him, “Two, maybe three?”

“Days?”

Phil nods, nod taking his eyes off his colourful town. Dan glances at the screen, seeing Phil trying to complete some fishing task.

“Can you go change them?”

“After this,”

“It’s literally so inconsequential if you were to stop playing right now,”

“No, some stupid Beaver wants some fish, but the type he needed made no sense and-”

“Go change your pants, Phil,” Dan says, with a bit more snap in his voice than he meant.

He sees Phil’s jaw clench before he tosses the controlled aside on the couch and pushes himself up, heading towards the bedroom.

Dan’s eyes train on a spot on the floor, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs as he furrows his brows together. He didn’t mean to snap or get upset with Phil; he wasn’t even really upset. When Phil comes back into the lounge, he’s wearing a pair of sweats now, too. He grabs his controller from the couch and sits in its spot, a bit away from Dan now.

“I just don’t want this to be our normal,” Dan says softly, “I didn’t mean to get upset at you, I’m just keyed up,”

Phil nods a bit, chewing on his bottom lip as he continues to play his game. There’s a few beats a silence after Dan’s words, but when Phil finally reels in the fish, he speaks up again, “I am too. I’m sure lots of people are, Dan,”

“I’m not trying to pity myself,”

“I’m not saying you are. But right now, there’s not a whole lot I can really do to help you. I’m sorry I hadn’t changed my pants. I’m sorry for the dishes yesterday, and the laundry last weekend. But none of that is new, we’ve been together long enough for you to know that sometimes I let the clothes sit in the washer for a few days and let them get all gross, or that I drop the occasional bowl or forget to rinse something out. You know this,”

Dan sighs, rubbing at his face, “It’s not even you I’m mad at,” He groans, “I’m just mad at everybody and everything and unfortunately you got stuck here with me,”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, solving a global pandemic isn’t something I’m capable of to help you feel better,” Phil mutters bitterly.

Dan leans back into the couch, letting his eyes trace softly over the feature of Phil’s face, backlit by the beaming sun coming through the window behind him, “Can you go stay in the other loft?” He asks, and his stomach sours at the pissy look Phil gives him, “Or I can, I just, I need space,” Dan finishes quietly, his eyes trained back on the floor again, and Phil’s face softens.

Phil reaches out, taking one of Dan’s hands in his own, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be such an ass sometimes,” Dan nods, “It’s been a few hard weeks for everyone. Maybe we both need some space,”

“It’ll only be for the night,” Dan says quickly, “I just want to exist alone, if that makes any sense?”

Phil chuckles and brings Dan’s hand to his lips, kissing the back of his hand softly, “I’ll say yes, if that helps,”

“It does,”

Phil smiles a little, “I guess I’ll go pack a bag, then,”

Dan looks back at Phil now, and leans over to kiss him softly, holding himself up with a grasp on Phil’s shoulders, “I’m gonna go make myself some food,”

Phil kisses back, and nods, “Want me to come say bye when I leave?”

Dan nods a bit, his eyes fleeting between Phil’s eyes and lips, “Please,”

-

Dan’s sitting on the couch with a sandwich of his own when Phil comes back out of the bedroom, his backpack slung over his shoulder, “I’m gonna head out now,”

Dan reaches towards him with one hand and makes grabby hands, smiling. While Phil makes his way over, he wipes his hands on the couch and sets his plate on the coffee table next to Phil’s plate from earlier. He grabs Phil by the collar of the shirt and pulls him down, pressing their lips together and humming softly.

Phil leans over the arm of the couch, before slowly climbing over it and on top of Dan as Dan keeps pulling, “Thought I was meant to be leaving?”

“You are, I can’t hold-up your train back to Manchester forever,” Dan whispers against his lips, and Phil giggles, pulling back a little bit to stare down into Dan’s warm eyes before placing a final peck to his lips and climbing off of him and the couch.

“When I finalize the plans for my teleportation machine, then we won’t have to be apart!” Phil says excitedly, straightening out his shirt.

Dan snorts, rolling his eyes, “What the fuck?”

“Why can’t I be the inventor of a teleportation machine in our roleplay?”

“Alright, get the hell out of here before I actually feed you to the pigeons,”

“Oh, don’t go into the bedroom! I have a surprise in there for you,”

“A sexy surprise?”

“Guess we’re gonna test Pavlov’s theory,”

Dan raises an eyebrow curiously at him.

Phil grins, and blows him a kiss before heading out, taking the elevator down a few floors to their other flat.

-

The day passes by faster than Dan expected. As promised, he didn’t go into the bedroom. Phil doesn’t text him, and he doesn’t mind. He watches a movie he’s been dying to see that Phil isn’t interested in and he plays a few different video games. Around 9pm, he strolls into the kitchen to make something. He ends up making a chickpea salad, when he knows deep down, he’d much rather just order a pizza.

He’s sitting at the table, scrolling through Instagram on his phone as he eats. He’s sure Phil’s struggled without having someone to blab at for the entire day, but he’ll be back in the morning.

When finishes his food, he takes the dishes to the kitchen and cleans up before putting everything away, moving around the kitchen without really thinking.

Around 10pm, he’s curled up on the couch binging a new season of one of his shows when he vaguely hears some music. He furrows his brows together and pauses the show, listening carefully.

He pushes his blanket to the floor and tosses the controller onto the couch before following the familiar music until he reaches the bedroom, the door cracked open a bit.

The room is being lit up blue and music is still playing loudly. Dan opens the door and sees his old checked duvet covering the bed. Dan can’t help but smile when he sees Phil’s icon filling his laptop screen with the classic blue colour and the music.

He clicks accept on the Skype call and sits on the edge of the bed, smiling, “Skype calls?”

Phil shrugs through the video call, his shoulders bare. He can see Phil’s old duvet being pulled up his chest, too, “Too much?”

Dan grins, pulling back the duvet and climbing into the bed, repositioning his laptop so Phil can see him better, “You’re a fucking weirdo, but I love you,”

“I love you, too,” Phil smiles, “so much. So, is Pavlov’s Theory correct?”

Dan scoffs and swats at his laptop, sending it sliding across the bed a bit, “You aren’t getting Skype sex when you can come up here and do it yourself,”

Phil giggles, pulling the blanket up more and moving his laptop so he can lay down, “Lay down with me,” He grins, “No Skype sex, just talking,”

Dan rolls his eyes and scoots down in bed, getting comfortable to match Phil, “Tell me about your day, Philly,”

They talked and whispered to each other for a few hours, but of course it inevitably ends up in Skype sex.


End file.
